AMARANTHE's ELIZE RYD: Internet Makes People Say Things They Probably Wouldn't Say In 'Real Life'

Dreyman magazine recently conducted an interview with AMARANTHE singer Elize Ryd. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Advice to up-and-coming artists:

Elize: "I would say to them to follow their dreams or they will regret they didn't try. Happiness is very important, so it's better to try to do the things you love than to do what other people think is best for you, and not be happy. I have tried lots of other 'jobs,' since it's expensive to reach success in the music industry. It's been fun as well, but there's nothing else that feels so right to me than to work on stage and entertain. Your family and your friends, if they are real friends, they will always be left. But your chance to succeed might only come once. I've always felt I have to do it, no matter what. I guess I'm very lucky I had support from home. My mom even told me that I don't need to go to school. She knew I wanted to become an artist, so she said I didn't need to finish my time in school if I didn't want to. That is very unique, I guess. [Laughs] Well, she really believed in me, and I wasn't very happy in school, but I stayed anyway. And I'm glad I made it. I was 15 when my mom moved. I lived with my sister and I started in a music/musical school where I met like-minded people for the first time outside my family members, and that was very helpful to me. I would recommend all the dreamers out there to continue as long as it makes you happy, as long as it gives you something back. I combined school, work and practice. I didn't spend much time with friends on my free time, I was always very focused on my goals and my dreams. Work hard, believe in yourself and don't give up. It's the same no matter what profession you choose."

On being criticized via the Internet:

Elize: "Recently I started a discussion about 'Internet hate' on my blog. We receive lots of love, but also lots of shit on the Internet. Free speech on the Internet affects many people, not only us artists. It could be hard to handle the negative in the beginning, but now I'm used to it. I understand that it's very easy to say almost anything when you're sitting at home protected behind a screen. The problem is that it makes people say things they probably wouldn't say in 'real life.' People have different opinions about everything, just like I have mine. I know people have different tastes; it's normal. We get both positive and negative critique, and it's no problem for me to handle it. Constructive criticism can be very good, but when it comes to hating us because of the music we make, I get very concerned about the world, human rights, cyberbullism, respect, sexism, equality and the developing of the human mind in general."

Read the entire interview at Dreyman magazine.